Passion
The Unmistakable Sound of Twelve
There are people who like V12 models. There are people who love V12 models. Then... there’s Steven Victor.
“Oh yeah man, it’s definitely an obsession,” he admits, a wonderfully open smile spreading across an expressive, youthful face that belies his forty-two years.
Without peeking inside his “pretty full garage” that currently houses five, “no, wait a minute, six V12s”. It’s a garage for which the music industry executive has big plans. His home-office in New York state is designed around a traditional Japanese garden. “But the new place I’m having built, it’ll be designed around the cars,” he enthuses. “The idea is that from each room you’ll look out onto a car. They’ll be part of the house.”
Above: Steven Victor with his prized Monza SP2. The music producer admits to being a little obsessed with Ferrari's V12 models
For Steven Victor his love of Ferrari runs deep. Anyone doubting his level of obsession just needs to ask him the name of his four-month-old baby boy: V XII. Yes, Roman numerals that spell out V12.
Even for a dad hugely successful as a producer, talent finder, and promoter of top names in the world of hip hop and rap, music genres known for their unorthodox monikers, this is going some. “At home I just call him ‘V’,” says Victor, beaming another of those winning smiles. He ‘blames’ “Pharrell”.
That is Pharrell Williams, famous rapper cum luxury brand Creative. “He’s a very good friend of mine,” explains Victor. “It was Pharrell who suggested the ‘V’, because the baby is my fifth child. Then my wife wanted to add the ‘twelve’, because she knows about my obsession with V12 automobiles.”
Although “infatuated with cars but with Ferrari in particular” even as a child, it wasn’t until 2016 that the music industry executive – who grew up the son of struggling Haitian immigrants in Brooklyn, New York – allowed himself to realise those boyhood dreams.
“My first Ferrari was a V8, the 488, not the Spider, the Coupé,” he recalls. His interest in V12s is something else that’s down to Pharrell Williams. “Yeah, he’s definitely responsible for some of it,” laughs Victor. “Pharrell had a black Enzo and he invited me over for a ride in it.”
Above: Hip-hop mogul Pharrell Williams ignited Steven's passion for the Ferrari V12, and he now owns six, including this Daytona SP3
That ride sparked Victor’s V12 obsession. Courteously, he pauses to earnestly add: “Pharrell’s also responsible for the success I’ve had in my career.”
But what is it exactly that makes V12s so special? He begins, “Every time I drive one, it’s like driving it for the first time and the feeling I get is...” He tails off, his mind searching for the right words. “It’s like hearing a hit record for the first time,” he says. “It’s one of the best feelings, for me at least, in the world.”
So, it’s just the sound of the engine? He replies: “I definitely go by sound. But the feeling... the combination of the sound and the feeling is ...”. His voice tapers off again. He actually gulps, looks around, then adds: “It’s everything.”
Similarly to when artists feel things coming together in the recording studio? “Yeah, exactly!” he exclaims, leaping on the suggestion. “All the elements put together. Yeah, very very emotional. It’s like a total body experience, if you will.”
Sounds like a good title for a song...